Queen pours through the speakers overhead, “Each morning I get up I die a little. Can barely stand on my feet. Take a look in the mirror and cry. Lord, what you’re doing to me. I have spent all my years in believing you, but I just can’t get no relief. Lord! Somebody. Somebody. Can anybody find me somebody to love?”
I like this song actually, ever since I heard Anne Hathaway sing it in a movie. It’s catchy and the giants are fun to watch. It also echoes something a lot of people cry out, stress over, and worry about.
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
The thing is, there are a lot of people to love around us. Family, friends, neighbors, even strangers.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” John 15:13
But that’s not really the kind of love the singer and a lot of us are looking for, huh? You’d think we’d be busy enough loving on the people around us, but it’s not enough. And truth be told, God’s agape love isn’t always enough either. C’mon now. I know I’m not the only one who’s ever felt this.
Even though I bask in the love God has for me, and I’m daily grateful for Him being Love Himself, and I get to enjoy the benefits of His love, there are moments when I’m singing, “Can anybody find me somebody to love?”
Then I’d feel so guilty if I’m not feeling so bummed, and the only thing that’s ever lifted me out of the blues is God’s gentle reminder, “You are loved. I love you.”
Finding somebody to love isn’t enough. As humans, we want to be loved back. We want the love we give to others returned. Because in the love we receive, we feel belonging, security, and worthiness.
We can find those things in the love of God! His love never fails, and in Him we always belong. We are always secure. We are worthy. No matter what happens, God loves us.
My favorite worship song is an old one, “I’m Your Beloved” by Vineyard/Brent Helming. It reminds me of how big, great, mighty, and powerful God is. Yet He loves me. He calls me His own. I am His beloved.
As a single person, I’ve never hated or resented Valentine’s Day. It never made me feel lonely or lacking. I think it’s because I always just see the commercialism of it, but that’s just me 😉 I’ll probably be sappy about it if I’m in a relationship. Either way, I understand if you’re not loving this day of love. I get it. In the grocery store today, I walked through a jungle of balloons and shelves of gorgeous red and pink roses. I admire their beauty, but I also know I’m not getting that come Saturday. And the night before? I’m babysitting at our church’s annual couple’s dinner. That’s what V-day is for me every year. And it’s okay.
The love of God really is enough. It doesn’t always feel that way, but our feelings doesn’t change who God is. His love – Him being Love – is a forever kind of love. We can’t change that no matter how we feel or what we do. We can’t be separated from it.
So keep on loving on others because there are many people around you who can use a little love in their lives. And while you’re loving them, I hope you remember this very simple truth.
You are loved.
